social engineering

American  

[soh-shuhl en-juh-neer-ing] / ˈsoʊ ʃəl ˌɛn dʒəˈnɪər ɪŋ /

noun

1. Political Science. the manipulation of social beliefs and behaviors by public or private entities through legislation, policy, and investment.

2. a technique that uses psychological manipulation, fraud, or dishonesty to force people to disclose private personal or corporate information, or to take a particular action.

   Hackers are using social engineering to perpetrate phishing scams.

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social engineering British  

noun

1. the manipulation of the social position and function of individuals in order to manage change in a society

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Other Word Forms

• social engineer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of social engineering

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

social engineering

It’s a clever and nasty bit of social engineering — a bait and switch that preys on people’s curiosity and the simple pleasure of feeling included.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

Earlier this month, North Korean hackers drained roughly $285 million from Drift Protocol after a monthslong social engineering campaign.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

"Fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated social engineering tactics to deceive customers, often impersonating trusted institutions to gain access to information and account," the company said.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026

So far, the most common use of AI for hacking has been social engineering.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026

Node:social engineering, Next:social science number, Previous:SO, Up:= S = social engineering n.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Guy L. Steele